The reality of Hungarian expats abroad: pasta in Italy costs half the price
Inflation has of course risen worldwide, but the increase in prices is quite different across countries.
The Hungarian TV channel RTL reported on how much prices have risen in other countries compared to Hungarian inflation. The staff contacted Hungarians living in Germany, Italy, Scotland, the United States and Mexico.
Germany
László Mándity, who has been living in Germany for 7 years, earns around EUR 2,000 a month. He also pays rent, but says that even now, during the economic crisis, he is managing to make ends meet without having to cut back on costs. He says that when he visited Hungary recently, he was shocked by the price of food. In Germany, he has not seen such drastic price differences since the crisis started. In Hungary, the price of the Hungarian Pick salami surprised him the most. While the same product is HUF 2,254 (EUR 5.81) in Germany, it is around HUF 5,000 (EUR 12.88) in Hungary. In addition, the report says that other foods’ prices are also not that high in Germany compared to Hungary. This is not that surprising, given that German food inflation was 20.7 percent last December, half the rate in Hungary.
Italy
Kati Bene, who lives in Italy, says she feels the price rises and is therefore more careful about how much she spends. But she says the situation is not as bad in Italy as it is in Hungary.
RTL highlights the price of Italian pasta as an illustration of prices. While one of the cheapest pasta in Italy costs the equivalent of HUF 277 (EUR 0.71), in Hungarian shops, customers have to pay twice as much. While food inflation was 3.6 percent in January last year, it had risen to 13.3 percent by December.
Scotland
Living in Scotland, Zsuzsi works as an assistant, while her husband delivers pizzas, and they have 3 children. Although she says they still do not have to save much, they are aware of the price changes. However, she stresses that the social safety net there is much stronger than in Hungary and that there are even more job opportunities than before. In the UK, food inflation rose from 4.8 percent in January last year to 17 percent in December.
United States
Food inflation in the US was 6.7 percent last January. This compares to a very small increase of 10.4 percent in December. Nevertheless, Mariann, who lives in Las Vegas, is feeling the price increase. According to her, while she used to spend USD 80-120 a week on groceries in previous years, she now spends around USD 180 a week.
Mexico
In Mexico, food inflation rose from 12 percent last January to just 12.7 percent in December. The price of basic food items costs about the same as in Hungary. But restaurant prices are surprisingly low.
According to Balázs Sümegi, an economic expert interviewed by RTL, it is unlikely that we will pay less for food this year. Unfortunately, he says, people will have to get used to the fact that the prices of a year or two ago will not return.
Read alsoThe reality of Hungarian expats abroad: pasta in Italy costs half the price
Source: rtl.hu